martes, 23 de abril de 2013

If a clown

If a clown came out of the woods,a standard looking clown with oversizedpolkadot clothes, floppy shoes,a red, bulbous nose, and you saw himon the edge of your property,there'd be nothing funny about that,would there? A bear might be preferable,especially if black and berry-driven.And if this clown began waving his handswith those big, white glovesthat clowns wear, and you realizedhe wanted your attention, had somethingapparently urgent to tell you, would you pivot and run from him,or stay put, as my friend did, who seemedto understand here was a clownwho didn't know where he was,a clown without a context.What could be sadder, my friend thought,than a clown in need of a context?If then the clown said to youthat he was on his way to a kid'sbirthday party, his car had broken down,and he needed a ride, would you givehim one? Or would the connectionbetween the comic and the appalling,as it pertained to clowns, be suddenly so clearthat you'd be paralyzed by it?And if you were the clown, and my friendhesitated, as he did, would you makea sad face, and with an enormous fingerwipe away an imaginary tear? How farwould you trust your art? I can tell youit worked. Most of the guests had gonewhen my friend and the clown drove up,and the family was angry. But the clowntwisted a balloon into the shape of a birdand gave it to the kid, who smiled,letting it rise to the ceiling. If you were the kid,the birthday boy, what from then onwould be your relationship with disappointment?With joy? Whom would you blame or extol?